In collaboration with the Pattani Provincial Administrative Organization, Pattani Municipality, National Health Security Office (NHSO) Area 12, Optometry Association of Thailand, Faculty of Optometry, Ramkhamhaeng University, Pattani Provincial Education Office, and Pattani Hospital, as well as public health officers, volunteers, and Sub-district Health Promoting Hospitals (Sor Por Ror) in the area, as well as the Pattani Gold Card Protection Center and Equity Lab under the Equitable Education Fund (EEF), they continue to organize proactive vision screening activities for children and youth in Pattani Province. Additionally, they will expand the vision screening innovation design project, called “I SEE THE FUTURE,” to address vision problems, which are a significant barrier to learning, and close risk factors that could lead to children and youth dropping out of school. This initiative aims to provide everyone with access to vision screening services, establish a referral system for children and youth with vision problems to receive treatment, and offer quality, appropriate eyeglasses free of charge under the National Health Security rights.
To develop a sustainable system of problem-solving at the local level, this phase is primarily implemented through local agencies, with interaction between public health and education organizations. The target group has also been broadened to include children and youth across the province, including those who have left the educational system. This is in line with the Thailand Zero Dropout mission, which aims to provide these individuals with access to vision screening services, treatment rights, or care and assistance that are appropriate for these children and youth on a case-by-case basis.
Additionally, eyesight screening has been started for all pupils in Mueang District and Nong Chik District, ranging from kindergarten to Mathayom 3. Children and youth were referred for comprehensive vision screening by optometrists, while health teachers and sub-district health promoting hospitals performed the initial screening. A total of 789 students underwent screening, of which 566 required eyeglasses, 31 were sent to ophthalmologists, and 12 were sent to ophthalmologists. Screening will be conducted in other districts in the future.
“This operation is an extension of the I See The Future” proactive vision screening and glasses project launched by the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) in 2024, which prompted us to realize the importance of vision problems that affect the learning and development of children and youth in the area, as well as the number of children and youth who need assistance,” said Ms. Marisa Kiatsaksophon, Director of the Public Health Division, Pattani Provincial Administrative Organization. The Chief Executive of the PAO has therefore assigned the Public Health Division to oversee the project at this stage in order to expand access to vision screening and vision correction for children and youth throughout the province by reducing the screening steps, making it easier to access in the form of a One Stop Service.
“We don’t want to be reactive because it will be too late if we do. Every year, youngsters undergo rapid changes, including alterations in their vision. However, we can screen more rapidly if we are proactive, and the PAO has a policy that requires those who discover a child’s visual issue to come right away. Proactive work is crucial, in our opinion.”
From the initial survey and screening during this period, it was revealed that around 3,700 out of 200,000 children and teens have abnormal vision. To provide access to and comprehensive care for the target group, which includes both children in the education system and those not, the PAO has collaborated with local network partners at the community, school, and sub-district health promoting hospital levels as well as at the hospital level. Health instructors in schools or sub-district health-promoting hospitals receive training on how to perform initial screenings on children in the educational system and then recommend them to optometrists for follow-up screenings. A youngster will be referred to a physician if anomalies are discovered. Three agencies will be involved in the work for children who are not in the educational system: Village Health Volunteers in the area of responsibility are the first people to be surveyed and contacted. The sub-district health promoting hospitals will then collaborate with the sub-district health promoting hospitals, with physicians at the hospitals and officers in charge of the 130 sub-districts. This makes it possible to monitor children who are not in school.
Furthermore, the Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) has compiled information on children and youth with visual impairments who have undergone screening through the Vision Pattani system. This information can be utilized by local agencies to assess the severity of the issue and the current state of affairs, and it will also serve as a database to connect to provincial policymaking.
In order to ensure that students have access to comprehensive and efficient screening, diagnosis, and eligibility for eyeglasses, which is linked to the initial training of teachers in vision screening, Dr. Suriya Mardthing, Pattani Provincial Education Officer, discussed the crucial role that the Provincial Education Office has played in spearheading this phase of the project by coordinating work between educational institutions, responsible teachers, and local health service units, such as sub-district health promotion hospitals, under the supervision of the Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO).
Arranging information sharing with nearby medical facilities and working with the parent organization to assist in the observation and treatment of visually impaired kids. Furthermore, as literacy skills are the key to sustainingly raising the standard of education in Pattani Province, Dr. Suriya underlined that assisting school-age children and teenagers with visual impairments is a crucial first step in lowering learning barriers
The Pattani Provincial Health Security Coordination Center’s director, Ms. Kalaya Aiewsakun, discussed the National Health Security Office’s responsibility to ensure that children ages 3 to 15 have access to benefits that include vision screening and spectacles. As part of the Health Security Fund’s aim to promote, prevent, and restore health, Pattani is one of the provinces that has submitted a project this year to evaluate children and youth for visual problems and give spectacles. Since there may not have been many agencies that have developed budget projects in the past, we would like to spread the word and encourage local agencies to do so.
Nong Chaona, a sixth-grader at Anuban Pattani Kindergarten School, has parents who remarked that this proactive eye screening and glasses project has taught them about their rights under the health security system, which they were previously unaware of. They consider it crucial that people are aware of their rights in this regard. In addition to helping parents who are struggling financially, free vision tests and glasses also support children’s learning development as it matures according to their age.
